GENEVA, Ill. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's hockey team steps out of conference play on Saturday, traveling to the Fox Valley Ice Arena for a 3 p.m. nonconference game against Aurora
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (5-4-2 Overall) at Aurora Spartans (3-6-0 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video | Video Preview
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—December 2-3, 2016 * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals dropped both of their MIAC games against Concordia last weekend at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena. Saint Mary's surrendered three third-period goals in falling 5-1 to the Cobbers last Friday, while coming up one goal short in the rematch a day later, losing 3-2 | CC Recap 1 * CC Recap 2
• Aurora—December 2-3, 2016 * Mequon, Wis./Geneva, Ill.: The Spartans split their NCHA series against Concordia (Wis.) last weekend, winning the opener 2-1 in Mequon, Wis., last Friday, while dropping a 3-2 decision a day later in Geneva, Ill. | Concordia Recap 1 * Concordia Recap 2
 
Saint Mary's vs. Aurora—Their Last Meeting:
• November 28, 2015 * Winona, Minn.: The first time Saint Mary's and Aurora squared off, the Spartans took advantage of a lackluster performance in handing the Cardinals a 6-3 nonconference setback. When the two teams squared off again in the first game of their two-game nonconference series at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena, the Cardinals made sure there would be no repeat performance—at least in the won-loss column—scoring three times in the third period to break open a 4-4 tie and cruise to a 7-4 victory | Recap
• November 29, 2015 * Winona, Minn.: The goals came fast and furious—and plentiful—in Saint Mary's 7-4 nonconference win over Aurora in the first game of their nonconference series at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena. Goals were a little harder to come by Sunday afternoon in the teams' nonconference rematch. Until the third period that is. Bob Kinne (St. Paul, Minn.) completed his first hat trick of the season—and second of his career—highlighting the Cardinals' second straight three-goal third-period, as Saint Mary's handed the Spartans a 5-3 setback | Recap
 
Up Next:
• The Cardinals and the Spartans return to the Fox Valley Ice Arena on Saturday for the second game of their two-game nonconference series. Game time is slated for 3 p.m.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2016-17 Roster | 2016-17 Statistics | 2016-17 Schedule
• Saturday's game against Aurora is the first of three straight road games for the Cardinals. … The Cardinals had their five-game winning streak snapped with a 5-2 loss to Milwaukee School of Engineering on Nov. 22. … Saint Mary's loss to CC on Dec. 2 snapped their conference-opening four-game winning streak. The Cardinals' four straight wins to open the conference was the first time since the 1997-98 season that Saint Mary's has opened MIAC play 4-0-0. … Six of the Cardinals' 11 games—including their 3-2 loss to Concordia on Dec. 3—have been decided by one goal or less. … Jay Heinle (York, Pa.) scored his fifth goal of the season to account for Saint Mary's lone goal vs. Concordia on Dec. 2, while Chad Cesarz (Jackson, Mich.) and Kelvin Walz (Woodbury, Minn.) scored in the rematch a day later. … With his fifth goal of the season against Concordia on Dec. 2, Heinle—the team's leading goal-scorer a year ago with 16—moved into a tie for the team lead with Bob Kinne (St. Paul, Minn.). … Kinne also shares the team lead in points (8) with Walz, who had a goal and an assist against the Cobbers. … Martin Gruse (Trenton, Mich.) and Nick Albergo (Elmhurst, Ill.) share the team lead with six assists each, one more than Walz. … Kinne has recorded at least one point in seven of the team's 11 games—including goals in five of those 11 contests. … Saint Mary's 31 goals have come from 14 different players—including collegiate firsts from Dylan Robertson (Darien, Ill.), Kyle Meeh (Fenton, Mo.), Andrew Cummings (Anchorage, Alaska), Alex DiBacco (Darien, Ill.) and Joey Mavrin (Lockport, Ill.). … Eighteen different players have accounted for Saint Mary's 41 assists. … Albergo and Gruse each picked up assists on three of Saint Mary's five goals vs. UW-River Falls on Nov. 5. It was the fourth time in his collegiate career Gruse has had a three-assist night, while Albergo's was his first. … Jared Johnson scored on a first-period penalty shot goal against MSOE on Nov. 22—it was the Cardinals' first since Jesse Polk scored on a penalty shot during the 2007-08 season. … Cesarz scored three goals in the Cardinals' MIAC sweep of St. Olaf on Nov. 18-19—scoring twice in Saint Mary's 6-3 Game 1 win, while adding another in the Cardinals' sweep-clinching 3-0 victory a day later. Cesarz has now scored seven goals in eight career games against St. Olaf—the junior netted his first collegiate hat trick vs. the Oles in 2014-15, and added a goal and an assist last year. … Cesarz—owner of four multiple-goal games in his collegiate career—is the third Saint Mary's player to record a two-goal game this season, joining Heinle and Walz, who each posted two-goal games against UW-River Falls on Nov. 5. … Walz's two-goal game against UW-River Falls was the first multiple-goal game of his career. … Phil Heinle (York, Pa.), who made 48 saves in the Cardinals' two games against Concordia on Dec. 2-3, stopped all 25 shots he faced against St. Olaf on Nov. 19 for his first shutout of the season—and fourth of his career. … Heinle stopped a season-high 38 shots against Bethel on Nov. 12. … Aaron Davis (Mound, Minn.) finished with 28 saves against UW-River Falls on Nov. 5 en route to his first win in a Cardinal uniform. … Heinle heads into Saturday's nonconference game against Aurora owning a 2.46 goals-against-average and a .908 save percentage in eight starts. Davis, meanwhile, boasts a 3.31 GAA and .878 save percentage in three starts. … The Cardinals have scored first in all five of their wins this season. … Saint Mary's has outscored its opponents 13-9 in the first period, and 8-7 in the third, but have been outscored 14-10 in the second. … Three of the Cardinals' 11 games this season have gone into overtime—Saint Mary's opened the year with a 3-3 tie against St. Thomas and a 3-2 OT loss to Concordia, before battling UW-Eau Claire to a 3-3 deadlock on Nov. 4. … With their 3-3 tie against No. 8 UW-Eau Claire, Saint Mary's is now 0-2-4 in their last six overtime games. The Cardinals' last OT win was a 4-3, double-overtime victory over Concordia in the 2015 MIAC Playoffs. … The Cardinals' 3-3 tie against UW-Eau Claire on Nov. 4 marked the second straight meeting between the two teams that has ended in a 3-3 deadlock.
 
Scouting The Aurora Spartans:
2016-17 Roster | 2016-17 Statistics | 2016-17 Schedule
• Saturday's nonconference game against Saint Mary's is the second of three straight home games for the Spartans—who are 2-2-0 on their home ice at the Fox Valley Ice Arena. … Aurora's 2-1 win over Concordia (Wis.) on Dec. 2 snapped their season-high three-game losing streak. … Three of Aurora's six losses have been by one goal—3-2 at UW-Eau Claire, 4-3 at St. Norbert, and 3-2 vs. Concordia (Wis.). … Aurora has given up 25 goals in its six losses this season—including a season-high eight goals in a season-opening 8-1 loss to defending national champion UW-Stevens Point. … Bayley Marshall scored both of Aurora's goals in its 2-1 win over Concordia (Wis.) on Dec. 2, while Rihards Marenis and Drew Doyan had the Spartans' two goals in their 3-2 loss the following day. … With his two goals against Concordia (Wis.) on Dec. 2, Marshall moved into the team lead in goals with four, one more than Brendan Logan. … Aurora boasts four players—Andrew Rupert, Anthony Pnewski, Trevor Hoth, and Jonathan Carlson—who share the team lead with three assists each. … Logan is the team's points leader with five, one more than Marshall and Nikita Smirnov. … Aurora's three game-winning goals have come from three different players—Logan, Marshall, and Chris Nowacki. … The Spartans have had three different goalies see action this season, led by Hunter Vorva, who has started seven of the team's nine contests. … Vorva enters the weekend series against Saint Mary's owning a 3.35 goals-against-average and a .910 save percentage, while Jared Rutledge boasts a 2.03 GAA and .954 save percentage in two starts, and Max Kirkwood has a 3.93 GAA and .992 save percentage in two relief appearances. … Aurora has scored nine of its 16 goals this season in the second period. The Spartans have been outscored 6-4 in the first, 12-9 in the second, and 10-3 in the third. … Aurora has scored first in four of its nine games, going 3-1-0. The Spartans are winless (0-5-0) when their opponent nets the game's first goal.